Pochettino said teenager Shaw's England elevation can aid the fight to fend off the circling Manchester City and Chelsea, with both Barclays Premier League giants keen on prising the 18-year-old away from the south coast.

Staying put: Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino believes Luke Shaw will turn down the advances of Manchester City and Chelsea to stay with the club in the summer

Emotional: Shaw was in tears when he broke the news of his England call-up to his mum this week. The defender was called up by Roy Hodgson for the friendly with Denmark on Wednesday

'Prestige': Mauricio Pochettino believes his star players will want to remain at St Mary's despite inevitable interest from leading Premier League sides

The Argentine manager backed Southampton's England quartet to force their way into Roy Hodgson's World Cup squad for the summer tournament in Brazil.

'That's clearly our intention; we want to keep hold of our young players, such as Luke Shaw: we want to keep hold of our young, talented players, and that's our intention for the future,' said Pochettino.

'It's very important that Southampton have four players in the England squad, that's a massive boost for this club, but it also enhances the prestige of this club, so it's a very important thing.'

Southampton academy graduate Shaw has joined Rickie Lambert, Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana in the full England squad.

World Cup hope: Pochettino believes Southampton could have four players on the England plane to Brazil this summer, including Adam Lallana

In contention: Roy Hodgson will also consider Jay Rodriguez for selection for the World Cup in Brazil

Proud that Southampton can identify youngsters and turn them into full internationals, Pochettino vowed the club will help the likes of Shaw cope with the transition from Premier League to the England arena.

Step up: Shaw in action for England Under-21s in their European Championship qualifier against Moldova in September

'We all know Luke's quality, and it's clear that if Roy Hodgson has selected him it's because he feels he's capable of performing well, and complementing Baines and Ashley Cole in that position,' said Pochettino.

'Overall it's a positive thing for him and for the English national side.

'It's very motivating for Southampton as a football club, I think we have 17 or 18 players who have been called up to the international break next week at all levels in the club.

'It's great to see that Southampton has the capacity to develop and create new players, especially of the calibre to go on and play for the full England side.

Brief hope: Maya Yoshida is congratulated by his teammates after scoring Southampton's opener at West Ham last weekend. They ultimately lost the match 3-1

'Getting an England call-up creates a certain stress, because you must travel and compete the entire week.

'That creates a different stress on the player, and it's down to the technical staff at Southampton to balance that stress out, and find equilibrium between the excitement of making the England squad and keeping your feet on the ground, basically.

'Big clubs have players that are well used to playing international football, but when a player like Luke Shaw gets called up for the first time, that can demand a lot more physically and mentally.

'So it's up to us to keep the equilibrium of this club, over time trying to help our international players not see that as such a big demand, physically and mentally.'